Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Lynburn Legacy #1
Reviewed by Noelle October 10, 2012
Published September 11, 2012 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Goodreads • Buy on AmazonKindleBook Depository


I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
Mad Girl's Love Song by Sylvia Plath


I've been eager to read Unspoken ever since I caught sight of that beautiful cover and am happy to say that it did not disappoint.

Kami Glass, teen investigative reporter, has always stood out from the crowd. Whether it was not being shy about talking to her imaginary friend in public, or being the only one daring enough to dig around the mysteries of her town Sorry-in-the-Vale, Kami has never quite fit in.  And why should she want to when she's finally running the school newspaper with her best friend and the mysteries of her hometown have just gotten more fascinating than ever? The legendary Lynburn family has returned and with them the rumors of the family's dark history with Sorry-in-the-Vale.  Kami is unable to resist investigating their cryptic hold over the town----especially when it turns out that her imaginary friend is actually a real, live Lynburn.  Kami is determined to discover just what the Lynburns are hiding and what exactly her not-so-imaginary friend has to do with it.

Unspoken is a charming, hilarious, exciting, gothic mystery that emotionally delivers in satisfyingly unexpected ways.  The characters all have wonderfully distinct personalities and Sarah Rees Brennan really excels at natural, humorous character interactions and hilarious yet realistic dialogue.  I was gleefully cracking up the entire book.  She is also wonderful at defying YA stereotypes and tropes, a skill I immensely appreciated and that really elevated Unspoken to the next level for me.

And Kami? Kami is definitely going to be inducted into my Heroine Hall of Fame/ granted a seat at my Lunch Table.

I don't want to go too far into the mystery or plot of Unspoken (go! read! enjoy!) so that leaves the perfect opportunity for me to go into a psychic connection stress spiral tangent.  Because oh my god, can you even imagine?! For example, let's say your imaginary friend turns out to be real.

I've read a couple of books lately featuring some kind of psychic or emotional connection and am I the only one whose mind leaps straight to pure HUMILIATION Do Not Pass Go?  How freaking embarrassing would it be if the guy you thought was some inner imaginary voice your entire life--the guy who you told all your most mortifying adolescent feelings and insecurities--was actually real?

How awkward would it be that this guy you have been completely emotionally open and vulnerable to suddenly was a real life person with real life personality flaws and issues? It's like if God started answering Margaret...and then turned out to be a maladjusted teenaged boy, a boy who now has all this extra personal knowledge and emotional collateral on you?  Can you even imagine?!

Luckily for the readers, while I'd be taking a floor nap in the fetal position for the rest of the book, Kami is a less emotionally stunted individual than myself and handles the complexities of her and Jared's new situation with a maturity that made me so proud.  Kami--wonderful, smart, ambitious Kami-- has a wealth of supportive, healthy relationships in her life.   Jared--volatile, furious, scared shitless  Jared-- has virtually no connections with anyone or the world around him. Kami has a strong friend network and family foundation.  Jared has...Kami.

Jared also had believed that Kami was imaginary and thus his own creation and I really think that he used her as proof to himself that there was some goodness and light inside of him.  He took comfort that Kami's sheer amazingness came from somewhere within him and when Kami turns out to be just as real as Jared, he's desperate to assign a higher purpose to their special connection, because he sees it as his only redeeming quality.  To Kami, the reality of their connection makes her less trusting of it and skeptical of what it means for her future.

Sarah Rees Brennan handles the emotional complexities of Jared and Kami's bond so masterfully.  Even as their codependency wavers back and forth from constructive and destructive and the edges between their individual feelings increasingly blur, the situation is always handled with refreshing perspective and maturity.  I couldn't help but love both characters all the while questioning what their relationship should even be.  I loved the depth of the dilemma.

I agree with the Book Smugglers that I can't really consider the ending to be a cliffhanger in the WTF?! NOOO! sense since what happens is 100% in line with the character development thus far, and I knew in my heart it was what would naturally occur in that particular situation with those particular characters.  To me it was more a cliffhanger in the I'm very, very excited to see what happens next sense.  (Especially after seeing this on SRB's tumblr hehe.)

Rating:  4/5 stars.

18 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed this as much as everyone else Noelle! I really can't wait to dive into this book soon, you're also one of the first reviewers who thought the ending was sort of expected, so I'm excited about finding out what the heck is going to happen! Lovely review! :)

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    1. Oh don't worry, the ending is still angsty and will leave you wishing you had the next book right away but I wasn't surprised by what happened. Can't wait to see how it sorts itself out! I think you'll love this one Jasprit! --N

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  2. Oh my goodness, I need to buy Unspoken. I like the way that you describe Jared as describing a higher reason to Kami, I guess. Sounds complex and I am down for that. Also down for heroines who can sit at the lunch table ;-)

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    1. I think you'll have a lot of fun with this April! --N

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  3. YES! I am so glad you enjoyed this one, Noelle! I adored it too and while I was first shocked by the ending, I'm actually very excited about it now as I'm curious to see how SRB handles this new situation and makes Kami and Jared fall in love - all over again! I loved the depth of character she conveyed with this story, so I can't WAIT for the sequel now. Fantastic review, Noelle! :D

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    1. Thank you Keertana! I can't wait to see where it goes next. --N

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  4. SRB really is superb at the emotional complexity and trope defying. Definitely what makes her one of my favorite ladies writing today.

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    1. I loved that about her. I'm definitely tracking down her backlist now! --N

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  5. I think I'm the only person who hasn't read this book yet. IN THE WORLD.

    I, too, love the cover and I am all about the YA mystery books. This one looks great. I can't wait to meet Kami and Jared. :)

    Brilliant review, Noelle!

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    1. Thanks Jo! I feel like we haven't chatted in forever!! Isn't that cover beautiful? Buying it is inevitable at this point for me. --N

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  6. Yes! Love this review. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who found the whole 'surprise! your internal diary is real' thing as horrifying as Jared and Kami did. I feel like most reviews I've read have kind of overlooked how messed up this would make a relationship in order to ship for a romance. I agree that the ending character development wise wasn't a cliffhanger, but the action was (though I suppose this was the best possible stopping place), and I'm certainly dying to see what happens next!

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    1. Thanks Heidi! OMG if I thought about it too much I'd need a paper bag handy for hyperventilating. There are just so many great characters and potential character interaction possibilities for the upcoming books. This was such a strong foundation for a series. I cannot wait! --N

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  7. The moment I read "your imaginary friend turns out to be real" I thought of Drop Dead Fred. Have you seen that movie? I must have watched it a bagillion times when I was a kid.

    Random. Anyway, this sounds waaaaay more awkward than mud pie hijinx and spaghetti flinging. Everyone seems to love this one though so of course I'm going to have to give it a try. Kami sounds like my kind of girl. Great review Noelle!

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    1. I haven't read Drop Dead Fred but the google image search alone is cracking me up. What in the LOL. I hope you like this one Catie! :)

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  8. You had me at 'your imaginary friend turns out to be real' too!
    And that cover...THAT COVER <3
    Great review Noelle :)

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    1. Thank you Anna! I love these sort of covers so much more than Attractive Teens Lean Into Each Other covers. This one is so pretty! --N

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  9. Love your review, Noelle and you've reminded me again that
    I need to make reading this book a priority!

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